This brilliant new school in Copenhagen’s burgeoning sustainable neighborhood[1] of Sluseholmen will be the first school building in Denmark to comply with new Danish energy standards. With rooftop gardens and play areas, a community cafe and even a dockyard, JJW Arkitekter[2]'s Sydhavn Skole (South Harbor School) won the city competition it was entered in for good reason. Perhaps inspired by the Oslo Opera House [3]or BIG's 8-Tallet[4], the mixed-use complex connects students, parents, boatmen and teachers to the adjacent harbor by elegantly terracing down into the water.

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Extending into the water, the school and adjacent sports center connect with the harbor like a ship alongside a quay. The buildings open up to the sea with terraces[7] placed at various levels to provide rooftop space for games, gardening and other active recreation. The small vegetable gardens[8] will not only provide a breath of fresh air, but also a chance for children to learn why greens are not gross out in the open.

Special-use rooms such as ones for needlework and woodwork will be placed on the ground floor of the dockyard[9], ensuring easy access from both the street and the water. Building projects can be constructed in the schoolyard and then set afloat as soon as the paint is dry.

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Facing land, the school echoes the mass and scale of the surrounding Sluseholmen[11] neighborhood with a 4-6 story block-like façade. This is made from materials that create a different aesthetic depending on the viewer’s position and the time of day.

The interior also mimics the character of the city; it is laid out as a dense community[12] of houses, workshops, shops, streets and open spaces. Science classrooms for biology, physics, and technology will be arranged centrally around an internal square.

The school and sports center are intended to double as a community center for the residents of Sluseholmen. In fact, there will be a space for parents to grab coffee together before biking[13] their children home, and the school kitchen opens up onto a sunny terrace envisioned as a meeting point.

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The school is located near the flowing Koralbadet Harbour Baths[15] and explicitly designed to feel open to the surrounding city. Also featuring special-subject classrooms on the ground floor that are open to the neighborhood past school hours, there is little doubt that the Sydhavn Skole will succeed as a natural neighborhood hub. It broke ground just a few weeks ago, so expect to see more photos of this innovative school late next year.